"Drops in the value of stocks can, and often do, announce a reduction in wealth and the multiplication of business failures with consequential pay cuts or layoffs," said Dr Chung-Liang Lin from National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan.

Researchers assessed the relationship between stock price movements and mental disorders using data on daily hospitalisations for mental disorders in Taiwan over 4,000 days between 1998 and 2009. They found that a 1,000-point fall in the Taiwan Stock Exchange coincided with a 4.71 percent daily increase in hospitalisations for mental disorders.

"Our results suggest that if someone is undergoing stressful and depressed conditions or has a mental illness, they should pay less attention to daily stock market movements, particularly middle-aged people," added Lin.